There is Joy from (Praise) the Act of Worship

Pay Tribute to the Highest God!

You can not run from Praise…
It’s everywhere!

We love to praise the things we enjoy, because it brings us the expression of joy. For example, Readers praise their favorite book, Parent’s praise their children for having an excellent report card, Food critics praise their favorite restaurants, and Sports lovers praise their favorite team of choice. As you can see, we love to praise things we enjoy. Right!

So praise is an expression of that joy. People love enjoyment of people, place, and things. It’s very pleasurable, so that why we do it. Do you know that it should be the same way in our praise to God? Praise for God must overflow our joy for and in God. You can praise God just because you take pleasure in Him. His love for you will be the same way. In your praise, you can enjoy Him to the fullest.

I say this phrase a lot, “Give God Your Very Best Praise.” Can we give God anything? In the Old Testament, the Jewish people gave offering from the earth – bulls, goats, herbs, etc. Let’s read about the old rule of worship in Hebrews 9:1-10 (Message Bible):

“That first plan contained directions for worship, and a specially designed place of worship. A large outer tent was set up. The lampstand, the table, and “the bread of presence” were placed in it. This was called “the Holy Place.” Then a curtain was stretched, and behind it a smaller, inside tent set up. This was called “the Holy of Holies.” In it were placed the gold incense altar and the gold-covered ark of the covenant containing the gold urn of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, the covenant tablets, and the angel-wing-shadowed mercy seat. But we don’t have time to comment on these now.

6-10 After this was set up, the priests went about their duties in the large tent. Only the high priest entered the smaller, inside tent, and then only once a year, offering a blood sacrifice for his own sins and the people’s accumulated sins. This was the Holy Spirit’s way of showing with a visible parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can’t just walk in on God. Under this system, the gifts and sacrifices can’t really get to the heart of the matter, can’t assuage the conscience of the people, but are limited to matters of ritual and behavior. It’s essentially a temporary arrangement until a complete overhaul could be made.”

These sacrifices were not the offering, but a special way for God to meet His people. He is still looking for His people today in our daily offering. Let’s continue reading Hebrews, starting at verse 11 through 22:

“11-15 But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent”—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.

16-17 Like a will that takes effect when someone dies, the new covenant was put into action at Jesus’ death. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. He brought together God and his people in this new way.

18-22 Even the first plan required a death to set it in motion. After Moses had read out all the terms of the plan of the law—God’s “will”—he took the blood of sacrificed animals and, in a solemn ritual, sprinkled the document and the people who were its beneficiaries. And then he attested its validity with the words, “This is the blood of the covenant commanded by God.” He did the same thing with the place of worship and its furniture. Moses said to the people, “This is the blood of the covenant God has established with you.” Practically everything in a will hinges on a death. That’s why blood, the evidence of death, is used so much in our tradition, especially regarding forgiveness of sins. Christ was that perfect sacrifice for us, so we could offer our lives to Him. He gives Himself to us again for His good pleasure. He enjoys being with us, and it is that joy in Him that burst forth praise of His awesomeness. It is in fully enjoying God that we glorfify Him the most.”

The life act of worship (praise) is saturated with joy in God.

Watch and sing-a-long with this praise song for more of the Joy in Christ Jesus!

In general: If you want to use what you learn from my blog articles, pages, and dialogues in communications with people, by all means go ahead. That is what it is for, however there are some terms and conditions to be met.

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Key Scripture to Learn:

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” – John 4:23-24